Star Trek Comic Prequel Mini-Series

IDW Publishing has joined with Paramount Pictures, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions, Kurtzman/Orci Productions and CBS Consumer Products to publish a four-issue limited comic book series tied to next summer’s new Star Trek movie, which will be released in theaters on May 8, 2009.

The first comic in the series, “Star Trek: Countdown #1,” will be released in January 2009 to the comic book direct market. The story is presented by Abrams and plotted by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. It is written by Mike Johnson (“Superman/Batman”) and Tim Jones, and features stunning art by David Messina (“Star Trek: Mirror Images”). Messina also provides covers for the series.

“There was a lot of back and forth about doing this project, how to do it, what it would be about, but what all parties agreed on was that we needed the right story and that it needed to matter. It had to count both on its own merits and when read in conjunction with the new movie,” said series editor Andy Schmidt. “I couldn’t be happier with the project and what it means to the overall Star Trek franchise!”

“‘Star Trek: Countdown’ lays the groundwork for what happens in the movie,” said Roberto Orci. “It’s our way of passing the baton from the ‘Next Generation’ characters and their movies to the new film.